RWBY: A Smiling Shadow
by JackPride
Summary: Follow Shadow Fireforge, a mercenary, as he tries to carve a new life at Beacon Academy. Or will his uncontrollable rage, haunting nightmares, and crippling addiction keep him from his prize? As storm clouds form over the Kingdom of Vale can this criminal truly heal or is he forever damned? M for swearing and gore
1. Chapter 1: Bruises and scars

" _The scars of our past will always follow us, what matters is how we deal with them"_

The bullhead VTOL landed, and the side door opened with a clean silence to reveal the sunny Beacon Academy. My combat boots made a loud clunk as they slammed against the heavy metal of the landing dock. I breathed in the pure air as I looked at my new home. Beacon tower's colossal emerald pendulums shone a continuous light as it stood to testify against the darkness that plagues Remnant. Well, that's what the brochure said. I just thought they looked nice. The rest of the buildings followed its regal design, with spires made of similar dark granite and arches shaped from the same soft grey marble as the rest of the tower.

With the calm sea and setting evening sun behind me, I walked to the admissions building with the help of some timid students. Wow. I was not looking forward to wearing that uniform, but it was a small price to pay. After taking in the scenery of the grounds, I noticed the increasing number of stares and hushed mutters I was getting. I couldn't blame them, nor did I stare back. I just hurried my pace a little.

The stares continued until I got to the admin building which was in between the CCT and the landing bays. The room was as I expected: the walls a soft cream and the floors covered in a dark carpet. A few chairs with mint green sponge seats surrounded a small coffee table that was littered with books and magazines. There was a large oval oak desk in the centre of the room with a few staff members behind it. As I approached the receptionist also gave me a stare but quickly composed herself.

"Hello, what is your business at Beacon Academy?"

"I'm a new student, Shadow Fireforge," I replied as politely as my deep voice would allow.

"Ok, let me just check the database. While I'm doing that you have a few forms to fill out," she said as she thrusted a surprisingly large pile of paper with a pre-clicked black pen on top.

"Bollocks," I groaned as I picked up the stack of legal papers.

Taking a seat not too far away, I skimmed through the papers, signing when needed. There were some I expected like 'no illegal substances and/or combat drugs' and 'no inappropriate sexual conduct on school grounds'. But then there were a few more unorthodox like 'Will not prosecute the school or any members of staff for limb dismemberment (including head)' and 'teachers are allowed to grapple, beat and shoot students in accordance with school guidelines.' I signed them all, but if a teacher shoots me, I will shoot back.

After about 2 hours of reading and signing the extremely lengthy and worrying task was interrupted as I was pulled aside to get measured for my uniform before returning to signing. I focused the extensive list of consent forms, my mind entering a state of one way thinking, a tunnel vision clouded my eyes as I scanned for words that could act as loopholes for me to exploit. In other words, my default mindset for contracts. Once finished I handed over all the paperwork to the slightly agitated receptionist, who probably wasn't allowed to leave till I was finished, and it was already dark outside.

"You know most of those are just formalities," said a seated old man in a dark grey suit and green scarf. 'How did I not notice him earlier?' He looked through his spectacles, his oak eyes judging me.

"I've signed a few contracts in my time Professor Ozpin and they... they ain't formalities," I told him as I took a seat across from him.

"So you know who I am then?"

"Just because I was late doesn't mean I'm an idiot, I just needed to finish a few things first."

"Like dealing with a Grimm attack at a support tower just outside Vale I presume," Ozpin inquired.

"Yeah that about sums it up."

"So, Mister Fireforge…"

"Shadow is fine," I interjected.

"So Mister _Shadow_ , what is a very young but also very successful and skilled mercenary doing at my school?" Ozpin questioned. "Or, more importantly, what do you hope to find?"

I leaned against my chair to let the question sink in. The question wasn't hard, I was just deciding if I should lie. Choosing truth, I told him. "I'm done being the bad guy."

"Hmm...well if that is truly the case I don't see a reason for you not to stay, but you did miss the making of teams and will need catch-up lessons, though the more immediate issue is where you are going to sleep," Ozpin confessed.

"I got a roll mat, sleeping bag and three pillows, I can sleep anywhere," I assured as I kicked my large, bulging bergen.

"Well one team did get a slightly bigger room than most…"

"I'll take it."

"Very well, it should be marked on your scroll. Sleep well Mister Shadow."

"Night sir."

As I walked outside, following my scroll with little care, my pride forced me to admire my reflection in the glass walls of a nearby building. My underarmour was a loose fitting black jumpsuit, like that of a prison uniform only more durable. There was a network of Gravitas Dust woven inside the cloth, so that instead of me moving in the armour, the armour moved around me. The separate plates of armour were a dull grey with orange highlights. My skin was pale and white, made even paler by the three powerful black scars running across my right eye. My jet black hair was spiked with gel, and the short fringe was flexed up. To top it all off, my normal eye had a burning orange iris. Hopefully I wouldn't stand out _too_ much.

My scroll buzzed loudly in my hand telling me that I now had access to room 665. 665?! How many floors are there for christ sake?! I opened my GPS to see the coordinates to the room. A pulsing blue line directed me down the wide paved path with a line of lamp posts carpeting it in light. As I followed it I got a feel for the grounds. Linking the various buildings I could see to the map on my GPS to get a sense of scale. Far to my left were two large hangars closed off behind a mesh fence and up ahead stood a large monument and fountain. As I grew closer I saw a statue of two armoured humans on the fountain, a man with an arming sword holding it high in the air with _honour_ and a woman with a battle-axe standing proud. They stood high atop a rock with a dying Beowolf beneath it. Out of four holes at the base of this statue were jets of water, shooting smoothly into the air and landing cleanly in the still water below. Engraved into the circular wall of the fountain were hundreds if not thousands of names, every single one carefully carved deep into the stone. At the end of each name as an Anima emblem: a soul symbol, representing a person with an active Aura. A memorial. Steeling myself from searching for any names I knew, I carried on with my walk to the dorms.

Now taking on a faster pace I tried to figure out which dorm was mine as I grew closer. There were six identical blocks, each with six floors and flat roofs which made them stand out from the rest of Beacon's design. My GPS guided me to the final block to my right. Above the door was a bold **6**. Once inside I climbed the spiral stairwell to the top floor. Still aimlessly following the blue line, I reached the door very close to the end. My scroll buzzed and the door clicked. Confused, I reached out to the handle and it opened with no strain. Ok, magnetic door locks, good to know. Being as quiet as I could I opened the door to my new room. Activating a red light on my burgen strap gave me just enough light to set up my sleeping gear on the floor without waking the other people in the room. I couldn't make out their faces but introductions would have to wait till morning. Removing my armour as quietly as possible, I placed my blades next to where my head would be. Worming my way into the sleeping bag, I slowly fell into a peaceful slumber in my new home and new life.

* * *

My natural body clock kicked in as I stretched in my sleeping bag. Oddly, I felt a weight on my stomach. Smacking my lips and opening my eyes I saw…

"AHH!" I screamed as some ginger girl was giving me the death stare while pinning me to the ground. My instinct took over as I broke free of her grip and grabbed _Duro,_ one of my swords about the length of my forearm. I was about to slice her head clean from her shoulders no questions asked before an invisible force stopped me a few inches from her neck.

"So what are you? A spy from one of the other teams?" she pressed, completely unfazed by my blade as she brought her crystal turquoise eyes right up to my scarred black and normal orange ones.

"Nora why would the other teams need to spy on us? And if he was, what is he still doing here?" pointed out a fellow normal person standing in green pyjamas.

"WHY ARE YOU SITTING ON ME?!" I roared as I threw her off me and jumped out of my sleeping bag, blade still in hand.

"Hey we ask the questions here buddy!" 'Nora' jabbed both literally and figuratively.

"I was sleeping, what's the problem?" I twitched angrily. Jesus, this girl has got balls for trying to start with me especially this early in the morning.

"You _were_ sleeping in our dorm," a blond boy pointed out.

"Correction, _our_ dorm."

"But aren't teams supposed to only have four members?" a red haired girl quizzed.

"Look, all I know is that I'm sleeping in here, that is all I fucking know." The fire in my chest grew a little but I steeled myself from saying anything else, I really need to take some of my 'meds.'

"Oh... well then I guess welcome to team JNPR's room... uhh..." Blondy began.

"Shadow, Shadow Fireforge."

"Well Shadow my name's Jaune Arc, that's Pyrrha-"

"Oh shit, you're Pyrrha Nikos."

"Yes I am," she sighed.

"So I might actually have a challenge then," I grinned, to which I received an inquisitive look from her.

"And that's Ren and you've met Nora," she quickly said. They nodded their heads as they were mentioned.

"You have a metal arm?" Nora pointed to my exposed arm, its matt grey surface absorbed the morning rays. It, like most cybernetics, was based off the Atlesian Knight-130's arm just with the raises in the forearm flattened. The arm was modded to contain a 6-cylinder Dust dispenser the length of my forearm, loaded with ejectable tubes of Dust. The pulsing rainbow colours of the Dust pierced through my forearm through the holes I had in it so I could tell what Dust I was using. I usually leave the arm exposed, even ripping the sleeve off of my normal clothes as threads and loose cloth tend to get tangled in the older joints and connectors. On my shoulder my Anima Emblem was ingrained, painted a fiery orange.

"Nora don't be rude," Ren hissed.

"No, it's fine, it's my own fault for losing it a few years back," I chuckled and began fabricating a lie.

"How'd you lose an arm?" Pyrrha asked with shock.

"Deathstalker," I replied bluntly. "And for the record I still killed the damn thing."

Jaune gasped. "Why were you fighting a Deathstalker at what, 15? 16?"

"14."

"That's even worse," he groaned.

"I was offered a lot of money to kill it, so I did. What's your problem?"

"Why would someone hire a 14 year old to kill a Deathstalker?!" Pyrrha added, clearly also disturbed.

"I was a merc, kinda have to expect a few scars."

"You were a mercenary?" Jaune asked in surprise.

"Yeah I was, so what?"

"Nothing, just surprised because of your age. You look the same age as us."

"Don't worry Blondy, I can handle myself in a scrap."

"Yeah well you might not against us," Nora smirked. "We've been at Beacon a whole term longer than you so you better watch out."

"Yes, though our time here has been short, many of us have gotten vastly better," Ren added. There was then a loud growl that echoed around the room.

"Ren! I need food! Can you cook me some pancakes?" Nora begged.

"You cook?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, is that unusual?" Ren asked.

"Nah, I just thought l was gonna be the only person that could cook," I admitted.

"You cook?" Ren asked.

"Kinda have to on the road."

"IT'S A COOK-OFF!" Nora beamed in glee.

"Come again?" I cocked my eyebrow, internally in terror. I'd never done anything like this before, well, whatever this was.

"Ren has normally cooked breakfast for us in the past," Pyrrha explained.

"Oh, do you want to cook then Ren?" I asked, face stone cut but still internally petrified. "I don't really care."

"Well I don't care either, however I do want to see who can cook the best," he said with a neutral, stoic tone.

"Damn it, fine, let's get cooking," I groaned.

"MAKE PANCAKES!" Nora squealed.

"I've never made pancakes." Nora's eyes widened until I thought they were going to explode out of her head.

"REN! YOU WILL TEACH THIS POOR SOUL HOW TO MAKE THE FOOD OF GODS!" Nora commanded while gaping in horror.

Me and Ren were all but pushed into the small kitchen compartment that was tucked to the side of the room. It had three small wooden cupboards, a small shiny sink, and oven with a stovetop. Beyond that there was a small work space with a toaster and kettle. We worked in silence. It wasn't the awkward kind, just focused. Part of me enjoyed the peace, but it was still eating at me. I watched Ren mix the batter then tried making my own, turns out it's pretty simple.

"Okay, I need you to put this blindfold on," Ren told me as the batter began to solidify.

"Why?"

"I don't want you seeing my special ingredient."

"Argh, fine," I grumbled. With that he tied the cloth tightly round my eyes. I then sat at one of the stools that circled the central work space. I tried to listen through the crackling of the pancakes to ascertain what he put into them. Smelling the fumes I detected cinnamon? Vanilla maybe? No, not strong enough. Some form of Dust? No I would have heard the Dust burning and they all give off a distinct smell. Fuck it.

Sitting with nothing to do the silence began to tear at my miniscule patience, so I tried to start some small talk.

"So Ren... what were you doing before coming to Beacon?" I asked, no idea if I was looking at him.

"Me and Nora were at combat school near Vacuo called Vindico, and before that we were at an orphanage."

"Shit, that musta sucked. I take it you got adopted before heading to Vindico."

"No. We got to go because we were part of a government funded project to get ill-fortuned kids into better ways of life before gangs and drugs got them, also I think Nora is the only family I really need."

"Yeah, well you can't say it gets boring," I smirked.

"No, I certainly can't."

"Well be happy you have someone 'cause I don't anymore and I damn well wish I did..." I trailed off, where did that come from? I really need to take a pill soon before I start bawling my eyes out. "Well let's get the pancakes served up cause I'm starving," I refocused as I undid the blindfold.

After we finished I carried the hefty plate through and Ren brought everything else, we began eating at our beds/roll mats. I took the opportunity to look around, familiarising myself with my new room. Probably about 10 meters long and 6 wide, the room would be very cramped if wasn't for the lack of... stuff. The single beds, straight and simple. Looking under I saw a few bags under each. The windows were symmetrical with the placement of the beds, giving the feeling of dull order. In the corner next to my stuff was a desk will a few books on it, probably the most chaotic thing in eyesight. There seemed to be no life or passion in the room.

As pancakes quickly disappeared there was a knock on the door. Pyrrha answered and a package was handed to her before she closed it again. I saw my Emblem, a black hollow sun with the symbol of chaos inside, printed on the package so it was probably for me.

"Its for you Shadow," Pyrrha stated as she chucked it to me.

"Thanks," I said as I grabbed _Dux_ , my combat knife, and sliced it open to reveal my uniform. "God I hate this uniform," I groaned. I put it on in the kitchen and took a pill, only to see that I had two more left. 'Shit, that is not good.' "Am I allowed to carry my weapons?" I yelled through the door as I pulled a black leather glove over my metal hand. I would prefer not to draw any stares to it without medication.

"No, not in class but why would you want to?" Jaune answered, sounding concerned with the concept.

"Consider it a habit," I quipped as I put _Dux_ in its sheath on my combat boot.

"Well you can't, but we'll show you where the lockers are so you can keep them and your armour in there. Were you assigned one?"

"Nope." My scroll vibrated, I got a message telling me about my new locker and its code. Freaky. "Nevermind."

"Well let's get you situated and run to our first lesson, Dr Oobleck hates late students."

* * *

With that we left to put my gear in the locker before racing to our first class. I'm glad they offered to walk me there as this place was a maze. It didn't help that there were students everywhere giving me stares because of my grotesque facial features, I ignored them and walked faster. We managed to get to class only slightly late.

"Well what time do you call this then?" A very angry looking Dr Oobleck barked as he glared at us. His lime-green hair almost vibrating in anger as he took a rapid sip of his drink. He wore an unironed shirt that was only partially tucked in with a yellow tie hanging from his untidy collar.

"Sorry sir, I'm a new student and I got lost and my friends here were searching for me," I lied before anyone else responded.

"Doctor. Very well then, sit down and open to page 747." He twitched and another took a sip from his thermos.

The lesson dragged on endlessly. The room was an elevated half-circle centered on Oobleck's desk and a massive chalkboard filled with a giant map of Remnant with labels and pictures of artifacts and other historical sights. The rings of long wooden curved counter tops had small trays for books and other things with cushioned benches for students to sit on. Wanting to remain close to someone I knew, I sat next to Ren in the far right corner in the middle ring.

Oobleck's method of teaching comprised of talking at break-neck speed and expecting us to instantly understand everything. Most just looked at Oobleck pretending to care or understand what he was saying, others, like Jaune, slept and Nora was drawing on his face. I decided to try reading the textbook at my own pace trying to take the information in.

Not long in, however, my attention was diverted by a group of bullies pulling some girl's rabbit ears. God I hate people like that girl, people who aren't willing to fight back. But at the same time there was a very big part of me, all of me in fact, that wanted to smash the bullies' heads into the tables for personal satisfaction, but I knew I needed to keep my anger in control. However, Oobleck noticed I wasn't following and appeared in front of me shouting, "boy what are YOU DOING?!"

"Reading about the White Fang doctor," I lied in case he asked a question on the Battle of Fort Castle as I was really struggling to make sense of most of it.

"Oh good, so you can tell me everything about its formation, the purpose it was formed, its goals and its new way of working," he asked obviously hoping to catch me off guard.

"Yes _Sir,_ I could."

" _ **Doctor**_. Go on then," he sneered. Clearly my being late had left a bad impression.

"It was formed after the Faunus Rights Revolution and it was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Faunus and Humans, this was also their goal. They protested outside large companies and businesses that discriminated against Faunus in any way. Despite this it was getting the Faunus nowhere, so five years ago a new leader took over and turned it into a group of terrorists," I deadpanned.

"Maybe we should report the freak and say she's with the White Fang," I heard one of the bullies say. I felt my trigger finger twitch.

"Yeah and we beat her a little for good measure," another grinned. My finger twitched again.

"Or a lot," the leader smirked, cruelty gleamed in his eye. The moment Dr Oobleck looked away, presumably to get back to the lesson, I pulled the glove off my right hand and rolled up my sleeve. I mentally triggered the barrel to spin to Bolt Dust before firing it through my metal index finger, right into the leader's head. His body exploded in shocks and twitches before he fell to the floor and continued to convulse as the whole room laughed, except for me and Oobleck. Dr Oobleck turned in confusion as I quickly put my glove back on.

"What happened?!" Oobleck glared at the bully as he zoomed towards him. "Cardin what happened?"

"I think his brain exploded from too much bigotry _sir_ ," I sneered.

"Doctor! Take him to the infirmary now!" Oobleck ordered as Cardin's team carried him off. "EVERYONE BE QUIET!" he roared when they left. Silence filled the room.

"You boy, what is your semblance?!" he hissed at me as he appeared in front of me, his eye twitching furiously.

"My semblance is called Ghost, the power to phase through anything and anyone," I smirked, knowing he couldn't pin Cardin's little shock on me.

"Well, can you explain Mister Winchester's very random and unexplainable seizure?"

"No doctor, I can't."

"Well then, if that's the case, let's carry on with the lesson," Oobleck said returning to his 'normal' energetic state, although clearly still suspicious of me.

So the lesson carried on as normal just with a bit more chatter about me, a small expense to pay for getting back at ignorance. I saw the Faunus girl they were bullying staring at me, I just grinned and winked at her before resuming reading.

"Ok class, using the information I just told you, answer the questions on page 748, hopefully you will all do better than the last time I asked you to do these questions."

I looked over to the next page, the questions were, to me, jibberish. "Who the hell is general Lagoon?"

"I think you mean Lagune?" Ren corrected.

"Yeah that prick, what did he do?"

"He was a very well respected general until he lost the battle at Fort Castle."

"Ok... how'd he manage to fuck up?"

"He attacked the Faunus occupying the fort at night, but forgot to take into account their superior night vision."

"Ok… so what do I put as the answer?"

"General Lagune was a respected general with considerable power and influence within the Atlesian military and-"

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down," I urged as I scribbled down the words as quickly as possible. "How do you spell considerable?"

"C-O-N-S-I-D-E-R-A-B-L-E."

"Thanks, ok carry on."

"And he was a very-"

"Could you start again from considerable?"

Ren remained stoic to my stupidity. "Considerable power and influence within the Atlesian military and he was a very radical man: he believed humans to be superior in every way compared to the Faunus. This affected the way he fought the Faunus leading to his downfall at Fort Castle."

"Thanks Ren."

"You know, if you read the right page you wouldn't need my help."

"I was reading the right page, I'm just not that good at reading fast."

"You were staring at the same page for ten minutes."

"Yeah, when it comes to things like this I ain't a fast reader. So what's the answer for the next question?" Ren just passed me his already complete work. "Oh, thanks."

* * *

After the bell rang JNPR introduced me to their friends. There was Yang, a mischievous, rough, top-heavy blonde. Her younger sister Ruby who was her polar opposite with short messy black hair and a red hood. And then there was Blake, a quiet girl with a small black bow on her head. Something about that bow sparked my interest about her. I couldn't tell why. The way it sat on her head? The way it seemed to move and twitch ever so slightly? It seemed the very air around her was, not threatening, but still dangerous. It puzzled me as we walked to the cafeteria, everyone making small talk with everyone else. I just walked at the back, trying to hide my face once more from all the students that looked my way. To make matters worse, I was the tallest of the group. Jaune was a close second but he still only came up to my chin or thereabout. Fortunately we arrived at the cafeteria and my brain just switched off. The cafeteria was nothing more than a massive hall with tables and benches all in rows along with vending machines and a kitchen in the far corner. There were also a lot of people. A _lot_ of people. As everyone walked in I just moved to the wall adjacent to the entrance, trying to slow my racing heart rate and tighten chest. "Shit, I'm gonna need a double dose for this," I sighed as I swallowed both the pills.

"You ok Shadow?" Ruby asked, appearing out of nowhere. Her silver eyes reminded me of my mum's and she wore a genuinely caring smile.

"Ah nothing, just not good with crowds, you know."

"Oh yeah, I know what you mean. I wasn't too good with them either, but you know how I dealt with it?"

"How?"

"I went in," she grinned as she yanked me into the hall by the arm, she was surprisingly strong for a 15 year old.

"Wait, Ruby?!"

"Nope, now sit," she ordered as she all but forced me to sit between her and Blake. "I'll get you a sandwich, what would you like?"

Well I was already in here may as well get something. "Bacon and cheese please."

With that Ruby disappeared, reappearing moments later with two sandwiches, one was mine, the other chicken. As we all sat and ate, the conversations flowed from one topic to another but quickly got to my actions against Cardin.

"Shadow that was so funny!" Nora laughed a little too evilly. "One minute he's pulling Velvet's ears the next he's flailing around on the floor like a ragdoll."

"It was certainly entertaining," Ren added.

"Well he was pissing me off, so I do what I always do to people that piss me off: shoot them."

"At least he'll be thinking twice before bullying anyone for awhile," Ruby pointed out. "But he might come after you now."

"Then I'll shoot him again." Ruby laughed lightly at that, acting as if it was a joke.

"Anyway, thanks for standing up for Velvet, I can't stand people like Cardin," Blake said with a smile.

"Then why not do something about it?"

"I don't like drawing attention to myself."

"And you think I do?" I replied rhetorically.

"We have different ways of dealing with things."

"Like you not doing anything about it and me fixing it," I sneered. This coward was getting on my nerves.

"That's not called for Shadow," Yang argued, defending Blake.

"Yes it is. We all got morals, just some stand by them."

"Hey, where's Weiss?" asked Jaune suddenly. That made my heart skip a beat and forced a whole lump of sandwich to get lodged in my throat.

"She's in the bathroom, I think she should be back soon," Yang told him.

"By... any chance.. you don't mean Weiss Schnee?" I was able to voice between whacking my chest and coughing up sandwich, fear quickly creeping into my mind.

"Yeeeeeaaaaahhhh? You know her?"

"Doesn't matter," I chuckled nervously, getting up from my seat, if Weiss was here that meant an argument, and without my pills I knew that that wouldn't end well. "Well I best be off..I need to… ah… sharpen my swords… yes, that's it! Sharpen my swords! Well see you guys soon!" I blurted out before spinning and knocking over a jarringly familiar white clad girl.

"Watch where you're going you…" Weiss groaned as she rubbed her head, suddenly looking up at me. "Shadow? What are you doing here?" she gasped.

"Bollocks."

"Did my father send you?!" she glared, her icy stare piercing through me worse than any sword could.

"No, I'm attending Beacon now," I reassured. 'Do not piss her off again Shadow, do NOT piss her off' was all the help my useless brain gave me.

"Why on Remnant would you do that!?" she demanded. Her eyes glaring icy daggers.

"I had a change of heart, what can I do?"

"Not be here would be nice."

"Yeah well tough luck _Snowflake_ , cause I'm staying," I declared.

"Why you! You're a mercenary! A hired gun! you don't even belong here!" that statement cut through my drug-enhanced restraint like a hot knife through butter.

"Wait, you're a mercenary yet you say I don't follow my morals?!" Blake barked. Hearing this I felt a snap and the rage came pouring back. My chest burned with a feeling of something being coiled around it, squeezing it ever tighter, only forcing more anger to form.

"What do you mean by that, _kittycat_ ," I threaten as she gasped.

"How dare you!" Weiss screamed and jabbed her finger into my chest.

"Weiss, I can deal with him." Blake told her. Weiss, knowing better, backed off and Blake took her place. "You said that the white fang were terrorists yet you're a mercenary!" She roared at me, getting up in my face and I just sneered back. "The darkest, most corrupt job there is in the whole of REMNANT!" She screamed. "You people prey on the weak and helpless, using your misfortune as an excuse to rob and kill whoever you like, you are no better than the White Fang if not WORSE!"

Well that did it. The rage had all the fuel it needed.

I lunged for her and grabbed her by the throat with my metal arm, lifting her high into the air as a few bystanders screamed. "Listen here you. Naive. Little. Girl. I've done some bad shit yeah, but that is nothing compared to what the White Fang have done and what they continue to do. They dropped Ursae and Beowolves on my town because my mother didn't agree with the change in management," I hissed at her, my words tasting like acidic fire, as she tried feebly to kick me into letting go. She went for my chest, hitting my ribs and core trying to get a reaction out of me. Each kick created a hollow feeling in my chest, not quite pain but definitely didn't feel good.

"Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing your whole world ablaze. Can you? 'Cause I don't need to. It already happened! The White Fang razed my life to the ground and I was forced to take desperate measures, so am I really that bad!?" I dropped Blake as I finished my wrath filled monologue.

"Calm down Shadow!" Jaune commanded. The red fog clearing from my eyes to see that everyone at the table was standing ready to defend Blake, from me, the bad guy, the scarred cybernetic mercenary with a temper. Nora, Pyrrha and Ren were struggling to hold back Yang from probably attempting to pound my face in. And that wasn't including the hundreds of pairs of shocked eyes that were upon me, silence reigning throughout the previously loud room.

" _Fine_ ," I spoke through gritted teeth. With that I left, but not before punching a metal fist-sized hole in the wall on the way out.

* * *

I went straight to my locker to get my stronger meds, but all the while my mind became more and more clouded with pure, burning rage. The thought of tearing Blake limb from limb, breaking every bone in her body, making her feel the same pain I felt gave me a malicious sense of satisfaction.

Finally at my locker, I jammed the unlock code in and pulled out a cybernetic needle from my combat belt, fully loaded with Numb. My medicine. As I linked with the port on my shoulder I shut down. Sliding down my locker, my back resting against it, I felt the calm soothing wash of peace and clarity and embraced it. I breathed in and out slowly and strongly, anger leaving with every puff. Soon all that was left was my realisation that I had, once again, been labelled the bad guy because of my stupid inability to control my emotions; because of my anger I just threw away my last and only chance to escape. Tears of fear and anger ran down my face as the pain of knowing I've just ruined my life forever only continued to grow. I had no one that cared for me, not anymore. And the past year of working for favours to get here just... wasted. This was my only chance to make up for all of it.

And it's gone.

"Shadow?!" I heard someone call out "SHADOW!" My unfocused eyes saw blob of brown and cream kneel down to my eye level. "Shadow can you hear me? Shadow!" Velvet, I think, screamed as she shook me violently. Then I just, let go…

* * *

I awoke with a start, inhaling sharply as I tried to regain my bearings. I was in a hospital bed. A green-why is everything green here?-curtain surrounded my bed. I went to wipe the sleep from my eyes, only to be stopped immediately. Looking down I saw I had been restrained.

"What the?" I pondered as I tried to free my arms. I tried brute force, slipping out, even using my semblance, but nothing worked. 'Guess they pumped me up with Comoinis Dust,' I mentally groaned, knowing there was no way out.

"Hello? HELLO?!" I called out, hoping that the nurse was nearby.

"Ah, you're awake I see," Ozpin smiled as he came round the corner.

"Hello Ozpin," I moaned, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, why so down?" He seemed to taunt.

"I figured you were here to expel me."

"I hadn't planned on it, the restraints were advised by Miss Schnee."

"Of course they were." 'Bitch.'

"What happened at lunch Shadow, what caused you to…" Ozpin began then stopped to search for the right word.

"Explode?" I suggested.

"Well, yes."

"Blake said I was worse than the White Fang."

"Why did this distress you so much to lash out?"

"Because I did what I had to stay alive," I told him, my rage returning slightly. "I had no choice, I was trapped so I torn my way out, avenging as many as I could along the way but I just kept falling down the hole, deeper and deeper, but now I'm starting to pull myself out, to try and become better and then someone goes and says everything I've done wasn't good enough. That to the world I was a monster. It made me remember everything I've lost to get here and I… I wanted her to feel my pain," I whispered in rage.

"Ah, I see," Ozpin said in thought, urging me to carry on.

"I've lost everything and everyone I loved. I fought through hell and back to get the money and skill I do now, and just when I think I can move on from all that shit, she goes pisses all over it," I stared at the empty ceiling before letting out a sigh, feeling as if a massive weight was lifted from my shoulders.

"Well, though I can't relate, I do understand how painful that might be, but you can't go nearly killing other students."

"I know, and when I get out of here intend to fix everything that happened."

"Does this mean you're fit to go back to your dorm?"

"I think so. Thank you sir, I needed that."

"Yes well my door is always open so please, if something similar happens please come to me and vent instead of strangling other students. If it does happen again I won't take it as you getting used to a new environment."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

Shortly after the nurse came by to remove my restraints and sent me on my way.

* * *

I opened the door to my dorm to see the cautious eyes of JNPR. Nodding an awkward hello, I sat on my roll mat facing away from them and began violently sharpening my swords that I retrieved from my locker. I was probably doing more damage than sharpening that I would have to fix later, but right now I needed a distraction from the glares I was getting from everyone. I could hear their mutters, arguing about what to do with me.

"Hey Shadow we need to talk," Jaune said, shattering the silence.

"If it's what I think it's about it then it can wait," I shot back. Though I did intend to fix what happened I knew I was too unstable to talk to Blake.

"No it can't Shadow," Juane protested. "You strangled her."

"Jaune, I've shot a Nevermore out the sky, should I show you how?" I threaten.

"Do that and I'll show you what a challenge looks like," Pyrrha threatened back.

"Shadow you can't do that to people," Juane started.

" _I know_ ," I growled through gritted teeth then sighed. "I know."

"Then why did you do it?" Pyrrha inquired.

I took a deep breath before replying. "Because she doesn't understand, none of you do, but I need to fix what I've done. The question is, how?"

"Well it's not like you can just take away those bruises you gave her," Ren's voice was filled with venom.

"Or could I?" I said as I grabbed a vial of Dust from my bag.

"Where are you going now?" Jaune asked worriedly.

"To fix shit."

* * *

As I approached the door I could hear voices and very angry sounding footsteps. I put my ear against the door to listen to the talking.

"I can't believe he did that," I heard Weiss huff.

"Yeah, earlier he was talking and laughing with everyone and then he just went nuts," Ruby replied. I guess I got one friend in the team then.

"I can just go over there and hit him once," Yang said, anger clear in her voice.

"No Yang," Blake groaned, her voice sounding broken and cracked from having her windpipe crushed. "Velvet told me earlier that he took some drugs from his locker."

"So what."

"It might mean he's on medication," Ruby pointed out, her voice carrying a bit more hope.

"So, that doesn't give him the right to hurt Blake like that Ruby."

"And I don't remember him taking anything when he worked for my father," Weiss added.

"Maybe he's only started taking it recently, people don't just attack people like that."

"No Ruby, he does. One time, when my sister refused to pay him, he hospitalised her!" Then she should have payed me the tight cow! And there is a lot more to that story.

"Wow, that's harsh."

"Yes it was, and my father did nothing about it." Yeah because he knew she overstepped her bounds.

"Weiss, bigger issues at hand," Yang pointed out.

"Oh, right. Anyway, what surprised me the most was that he knew you were a Cat Faunus, Blake." It was pretty obvious once she started thanking me for helping Velvet. That and I once met a rabbit Faunus who grew her hair long to hide her ears under it, after that I just grew to notice the different ways Faunus hide from dicks like Cardin.

"Yeah, how did he do that?"

"I don't know, my bow was on the same way it always is so he couldn't have seen them."

"Very strange, and Shadow was never the most observant of people either." Hey! That bitch!

I stopped listening to the conversation and, breathing slowly, I knocked on the door. After a few seconds Yang opened it. Before I could say or do anything I felt a very hard object strike my jaw with incredible force. The pure rage she felt for me flowed through that right hook and sent me to the floor. My face now ablaze in agony, I stumbled backwards, my eyes quickly focusing on a very pissed Yang. Actually, that was a terrible understatement. She was the incarnation of wrath itself, descended from the heavens and infused with her.

"What do _you_ want?" She glared lasers from her glowing red eyes, trying to melt me.

"To … fix... what I did," I stuttered. Though I have been in very similar situations before, the person I was apologizing to usually didn't have an active Aura so this was quite terrifying.

"And how do you plan to do that?" she growled, baring her fist for another punch.

"I just want to talk to Blake… say I'm sorry and… try to help." I pleaded out of both a wish for redemption and not wanting another bone splintering punch.

"Fine, I'll ask if _she_ wants to speak to you, but hurt her again and you. Will. **Die** ," Yang huffed as she slammed the door. A few minutes later Blake stepped outside, her eyes showing nothing but hatred. But what I found more interesting was the scarf she was wearing over her neck, obscuring the damage I caused.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice still broken.

"I just want to talk," I begged.

"Go on then, talk."

"Shouldn't we go somewhere more private?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to push her too much.

"We're alone here."

I kicked the door to my dorm, a few thumps and a single 'ow' from Jaune was all the evidence I needed.

"Fine, my friends might be listening in but why should I go with you? " She growled. "You crushed my neck and destroyed my voice for who knows how long!" She started to have a coughing fit after this little rant.

To this I was silenced, I had no leverage to get her to even consider trusting me. I knew she was a cat Faunus from listening in on her conversation so I knew a few tricks to put the odds in my favour, but I needed something to get her to care first. Well, you know what they say: actions speak louder than words.

I looked down at the floor with my hands behind my back, not needing to fake speechlessness. I switched a random vial of Dust for the vial I grabbed from my bag. I looked up to see a still angry Blake expecting me to say something and took aim. An arc of rich green and golden light grew out of my hand before went round Blake's scarf and latched onto her purple wounds. She recoiled in panic but the Dust followed and after it started to do its work she quickly stopped struggling. I could hear small whimpers of Blake's voice cracking as it healed. After a few moments the Dust's light grew to near blinding levels until it shut off completely.

"Ahh… Shadow what was that!?" Blake glared, her voice was much stronger and I could already see that the bruises had faded into nothing. After she said this she reached up to her throat in surprise.

"Uber, Healing Dust. I'm surprised Weiss didn't give you any, thought she would have loads," I explained as passively as my voice would let me. "If I wanted to hurt you I wouldn't have said sorry." I couldn't help but grin.

"Ok, that makes sense… so what now?"

"I don't know, I healed your bruises so you can go back to whatever you were doing before I got here, but I'm getting a drink so goodnight Blake." I nodded in farewell before I started to walk down the hallway. 'Ok time to hook her in.' After a few paces I turned and said, "but Blake, just so you know, you're not the only one trying to start again." To this she looked surprised and, I hoped, intrigued.

She cautiously started to follow me, success. "Well the cafeteria is still open and they sell some good tea, but you're paying."

"Then lead the way."

* * *

We walked down the hall in silence and sat down in the cafeteria which was open to the late hours. Tonight, however, no one was around. Good. Buying the tea, one black and the other blackcurrant, we sat in silence.

"I'm surprised Shadow, I didn't see you as the type to drink herbal tea."

I chuckled at this, "I have a sweet tooth, what can you do?" I knew what Blake was trying to do, I could see it in her eyes where curiosity was burning: she wanted to know about my earlier statement.

I took a sip of my tea before beginning, "I know you were in the White Fang."

Blake, who was mid way through drinking her tea, started to choke at my statement. "I...I… I'm not anymore," she said, her voice quieter and more nervous than before.

"Then I don't have a problem with you, I'd be a hypocrite if I judged you for past mistakes and heaven knows I'm no saint."

"But how did you know I was with the White Fang or even a Faunus in the first place?"

"You're not the only Faunus to hide their ears you know," I pointed at the black bow that sat on her head. "But you are one of the more creative, most just use Forma Dust if they know how. I remember seeing a rabbit Faunus grow her hair out so long that it completely covered her ears, after you see stuff like that you tend to notice it ."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense, but how did you know about me being part of the White Fang?"

"You defended them even though they were in the wrong, people don't do that unless they care about what they're defending or they've seen something to change their opinion, either way you would have to be with the White Fang." I took a quick sip of my tea.

"You sound like you're talking from experience."

"Why do you think I got so angry when you said I worked the darkest, most corrupt job in the whole of Remnant," I smirked.

"I… Shadow…"

"Like I said, you're not the only one trying to start again." I stared at my tea observing my reflection, my hollow scars filled my sight. The more I stared, the more pain I remembered. "Can I tell you something Blake?"

"Agh sure go ahead."

"When I was a merc I did a lot of different jobs, some good, some bad - but I never killed a single innocent person, no matter how much money they put in front of me. But the temptation was still there, to forget my morals. Then one night I had dream. It was… of me, walking down a dirty beaten road, cybernetics grew on my body like a disease, my face more machine than flesh. I looked around me, there was nothing but a trail of dead bodies in my wake, I was a monster, a cold hearted killer. And the worst bit? Even now I know exactly how to become that monster. Every day I'm scared of losing who I am. So I came here. A place I could be better, do better, become better. I came here to save myself. But is it possible? Can I be saved?"

"I don't know Shadow," Blake sighed. "I barely know you, you attacked me six hours ago and now you're here apologizing for it. It just seems so confusing that you jump from one opposite to another."

"Yeah, I guess, but I'm scared Blake. I'm truly scared… of waking up and… and I'll be… be the villain, and I just don't know what to do 'cause try as I might, it always turns out that way."

As I poured my darkened heart out to Blake I could only pray that my scarred face could show her how truthful I was being, even just enough for her to forgive me.

Blake sighed. "Ok fine, I'll forgive you on one condition: you have to swear you won't let your anger get the better of you again."

"I'll try kittycat," I smirked.

" _Shadow_."

"Fiiiinnne, I promise. Now let's get going." Without another word we both got up to head back to our dorms.

* * *

As we walked down the dorm hallway I noticed the differences in the way me and Blake walk. Her gait was smooth, so soft as if her feet were air. They seemed to barely touch the ground let alone disturb the others in the rooms around us. I took a very different approach. My heavily armored boots stamped and drummed creating a laughably loud racket. Even against the carpet I made enough noise to wake many and I even drew a few out of their dorms to check if a Goliath had gotten into the hallway.

"Wow, you have a serious case of merc boots," Blake chuckled before she realised what she said. "Oh Shadow I...I didn't mean it like that."

I laughed at this. "Haha Blake, I'm a merc and I'm proud of it. I've learned so much, seen so much, and I enjoyed most of it. You don't need to avoid the word mercenary or something like that. And besides, it makes me look more intimidating Softpaws."

"Oh shut up Shadow."

"Hey, you mock me I mock you," I shrugged as we arrived at our dorms.

"Well goodnight Shadow," she nodded as she entered her dorm.

Opening the door I saw Jaune sitting on his bed with an icepack on his forehead and Pyrrha fussing over him. Again. Is there something there? He gave me a sour look and I just grinned.

"Oh what happened Jaune? Put your ear hole where it don't belong?" I mocked.

"Very funny Shadow, how'd the talk go?" he asked back.

"The plan worked perfectly," I told him with my victory smirk spread wide across my face as I laid on my rollmat smugly as I reflected on my conversation with Blake. I felt a spike of guilt for not telling her a few details about me, but I felt it was for the best if she didn't know _everything_ about me yet.

Jaune and his teammates shared a few uncertain glances at my answer but decided to accept it. "Oh, by the way, there was a package delivered for you, didn't say who it was from though." He chucked a small rectangular box to me. Opening it a small note fell out reading 'Sorry for the wait Boss new guy runnin' the deliveries, gave u a few extra to make up 4 it, enjoy -Junior'. I held the bottle of pills in my hand that came with it. Had a good weight to it, at least a week's worth, though maybe less if today was anything to go by.

* * *

Author's notes

Holy damn it's been a while, nearly two years since this chapter went up…

Shit that's a long as time and I'm sorry about that but life's a bitch, from GCSEs to college to working I've been sapped of passion but NOW I'm back and I ain't leaving.

And on the plus side I got an editor, yeah I'm really trying this time. And I promise that this is the last time I redo this chapter but it was bugging me. Anyways thanks for waiting and I wanted to talk about a few issues that I feel like I have to address:

If you look into my morse code and it is broken take off the underscores at the ends if that still doesn't work let me know and I'll fix em.

Shadow's name isn't _that_ weird. Yes it's unusual but compared to other names in RWBY I don't think it's that bad and it does has a purpose

Shadow will come off as a gary su to start of with, he's just one of those characters that has that issue but just know that me and my editor are making sure not to do that

Because RWBY's lore is confusing as fuck and very patchy I'm using as more guidelines than rules but as we learn more I will try and get it to fit

With that done I would like to thank you for getting this far please leave a message, positive or negative, as it gives me the drive to write more but just be warned I will message you if your comment interests me. Anyways thanks to my Editor Spencer and my sister for their input and motivation.


	2. Chapter 2: Running in circles

" _Our names say who we are, but we define what our names mean"_

I was running, yet I didn't know where. I was in a hallway of some kind. It reminded me of somewhere, but no memory entered my mind. All I knew was that the Darkness was chasing me. It grew like vines, snaking thicker as it raced across the tattered carpet and the moldy walls, corroding the faded pictures of a family into ash. Looking behind me I saw a dark figure causing the Darkness. He stood tall and proud in black clothes with red detailing while his face was obscured by a grimm mask that, accentuated by black bull horns protruding from his locks, gave him a horrifying image. His body didn't seem to be solid, continuously warping and reforming like untouchable ghost. His sword, however, was far worse. Its blood red blade shrieked against the floor as he strolled towards me, a cruel grin imprinted on his dark face. I ran down the endless void of the hallway, the furniture and carpet stretching in my vision, trying to keep me in place as the figure drew closer, his grin now gone and replaced by a furious sneer. I fell to the floor. Looking at my foot I saw that it had disappeared, caught in the darkness. Turning around I saw him looming over me, the sneer still etched upon his face.

" _ **Why don't you just give in?"**_

"Cause dyin ain't my thing asshole." I spat.

" _ **Then you will become the monster. There is no grey area here, and you can't pretend there is. So what will it be? Will you die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain?"**_

"I'm not dying, but I'm no villain. I _will_ find a way to have both, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me."

" _ **Then you die with nothing."**_ With that he plunged his sword through my chest and I descended into the darkness.

* * *

I shot up, breathing heavily, sweat soaked my shorts and sleeping bag. My chest was tight, my breathing erratic, eyes unfocused and blurry, hands numb and clammy. My heart was practically beating out of my chest, the fear of it exploding not too far away. Dragging myself to my pill bottle I quickly swallowed two and once again embraced the numbness, my terror melting away like snow in summer heat. Feeling returned to my hand as I clenched it. I breathed in with my nose and out with my mouth, slowly, methodically, therapeutically. Reaching for my scroll to check the time with turned out to be... 4:38. 'Fuck you Adam! At least wake me up at a normal time!' I knew from experience that going back to sleep was impossible without some rather annoying side effects, so I grabbed my grey towel and armour before getting up to go take a shower.

Each floor had two small shower blocks; one for men, one for women. The interior of the men's was just as I expected it to be: grimy white tiles on the floor and walls with blue stripes breaking up the drab colour and a few lockable shower stalls, each with a small locker next to it to store clothes.

"Very clever," I thought out loud. "Stops people nicking my stuff."

To the right were ten cubicles and a very long urinal. Walking into a shower, shower gel in hand, I turned the knob before letting my worries wash away under a deluge of warm water. I started with my raven black hair, my short, chaotic bed-head flattening instantly. Running my shampoo-laced fingers through it, I paused at two sections opposite to each other on the sides of my head before washing off the Forma Dust to reveal my fox ears. I felt bad for not telling Blake that I was a faunus, but I felt if I did then I would be using it as an excuse for my assault on her, which it wasn't. Race should have nothing to do with how she or anyone else felt about me. Ironically, however, my status as a fox faunus would likely just strengthen the idea that I shouldn't be trusted.

I traced my fingers round the joining point between my flesh shoulder and metallic arm. The piston-like collar bones held the arm in place as my skin tried everyday to grow over it, leaving a very bumpy and sensitive black ring of both flesh and metal around it. It was rather unsightly, which is why I usually covered it up, but it served as a grim reminder that I've changed a lot since I started my journey.

I glided more soap over my battle-toned torso. I had various tattoos and scars dotted around my body. Each acted as a harsh and permanent reminder of something, from hard-won battles to acts of regret and sorrow. As quickly as I could I washed my back, legs and everywhere inbetween. I got out and, with a quick use of some Burn, I rendered the towel I brought unnecessary.

I then began the rather lengthy process of putting on my armour, starting with the black jumpsuit I wore underneath. First after the underarmour was my armoured boots. I always put these on first as they were the easiest to apply. After that came the grey heel guard which I put in its spot before feeling a powerful pull clamp it in place with a solid clunk. Next I aligned the calf and shin guards with their orange rimmed top and short spikes, which also fell into the slots I designed them to. After that was the violent-orange knee plate, adorned with a spike that had lost its paint in its use. The thigh pieces came next, plating with a similar orange rim on the top and sides clashing with the rest of the grey metal. On the side of the right thigh plate was a holster for my single action revolver, _Passus Victoria_ , and pockets for spare Dust cells to rest in. On the left was a pouch for ammo and grenades for _Little Friend_ , my single shot grenade launcher, that hung on the outside of the pouch. Like most armoured fighters I didn't have a crotch piece as I found that it restricted my movement too much and chaffed like a bitch. Grabbing my flexible abdominal armour I began strapping it to my stomach area. It was made up of overlapping dull plates that followed my 6-pack up my stomach. Above that was my thickest armour plate, the one that protected my chest. Like some of my other armour plates, this one had orange trim. Finally I attached the back pieces. The top half had two white, bone-like spikes acted as hidden scabbards for _Duro_ and _Apto,_ with separate armoured plating surrounding my spine. The lower half was much simpler: two armour plates on either side of my spine with a belt with some more ammo pouches on the back.

Now I was being very careful as I placed my right pauldron. I didn't have anything for the arm, but it was metal so it didn't really need it. I did, however, still need protection for the part of my shoulder where it joined with my flesh. I accomplished this with a spiked plate that doubled as a stabbing device if I needed to shoulder-barge anyone. My left arm's armour was very different from the rest. The pauldron had the appearance of a black metal Dragon head looking down, the burning orange horns pointed upward. My elbow had a spike similar to my knees and my forearm was molded to look like the body of a white Phoenix. Its white-washed metal head sat around my hand, its beak open so I could use the Dust capsules that ran around my forearm in a mechanical belt. I could mentally turn it because I had it linked with the wireless Neuro Dust connection that my cybernetic arm used. I then wrapped _Duro's_ chains around the armour, the chains looking like they held the Dragon's mouth and the Phoenix's wings closed. _Apto's_ chains were simply wrapped around my cybernetic arm, mostly the upper arm.

Looking at my metal hand, I held three battered circular steel dog tags wrapped around it. In each a different name was etched. _Jack the Ripper. The Real Santo. El Diablo._

"I will be better friends."

I carefully lifted them over my head and around my neck before tucking them under my armour.

I looked directly into the mirror intent on observing myself and my armour in all its glory, only to see my ever worsening scars. The three rips dominated my facial features. The top one tore from the top of my forehead to the bridge of my nose. The middle ran directly through my right eye, leaving me almost completely blind on the right side, and also slashed the tip of my right nostril. The bottom one skimped past my eye and split the top right side of my lip. Their void black emptiness almost seemed to shine, the rises and falls in the rotten flesh like waves on a poisonous river. At the center of it all was my eye, if I could even call it that. I looked into its abyss, searching for the faintest signs of that now long gone passionate orange that it once housed. As usual, I found nothing but darkness.

Grabbing some hair gel a student must have left behind, I spiked the fringe of my hair up and used the rest to flatten the hair that poofed up from my shower. Before leaving I threw another pill in my mouth and let the cool, numbing feeling wash over me again. With that I used some Forma Dust to re-hide my ears and walked out into the still empty, quiet hallway.

* * *

At this time the sun was still hidden behind the horizon, not even a wisp of its golden glow was visible. Instead I was under midnight's embrace. I spied the familiar constellations I've slept under many a night, from the heroes of old who were immortalised by no more than the shimmers of light, to the mythical Grimm 'gods'. They were no more than fearful formations that resembled the foul creatures. Nutjobs liked to pray to them for protection, which was pretty fucking stupid. How can the stars dictate the Grimm? Nothing controlled them. They were just soulless creatures of death. Why pray to them? I shook my head to try and remove the frustrating thoughts.

Once I left the dorms I strolled up the stone path, past the Memorial and Beacon Tower, and was now heading up the path to the hangars and landing pads. The path was lined with tall but young oak trees spaced equally between lamp posts. I spied an older, more sturdy tree with sprawling branches to the side of the path, rather out of the way compared to its younger counterparts.

'Looks like a better place than any to wait out the hours.'

I scaled the tree to the highest branch that I thought could hold my weight and just admired the view the night had given me.

Vale.

The luminescent lights set the midnight blue sky alight. The natural light that shone from the heavens didn't clash with the artificial fires that the city created. Instead they meshed together in some kind of beautiful chaotic harmony, the likes of which I had only witnessed a few times before. The city, though, did not share the hightech, towering skyscrapers Atlas was known for nor the grand monoliths and cathedrals of Mistral, or even the rugged aesthetic of Vacuo. Instead it set itself apart by its seemingly deliberate simplicity. The houses were white and clean, yet none reached over three stories high. The ebony roads flowed like calculated rivers around them. The cars and bikes of other early risers zoomed around like fish riding the current. Then, on the horizon, I saw it. The golden sun shining rays of warmth and hope across the kingdom. The passionate light, so pure, so beautiful, so calming. I wished, I almost prayed, I could reach out and touch it and basque in its peaceful and radiant embrace. Its glowing heat enlightened the mystic crystal blue sea and the soft marble of the buildings of Vale. It was one thing to see Vale by night but… this… this was something else entirely. The honeycomb-yellow warmed the smooth white houses, they gleamed in the new morning's light. The sky was set alight with the rich ore-gold colour that flooded it. The clouds were tinted in a magma-orange that seemed to flow and change as the seconds ticked by.

Pulling out my scroll and giving it a few spins in my hand, I checked the time. 5:10. My hidden fox ears twitched as I picked up the sound of fast approaching footsteps. Cocking my head, I looked down from my branch and saw Pyrrha in her bronze armour, weapons on her back, running through the courtyard below. I slid down to a lower branch to try and get a better look; my black eye's sight falling after a few feet. By the time I got there Pyrrha had passed my tree, giving me a nice view.

'Nice ass.' I thought as she ran by.

Then she stopped.

"Shit," I whimpered. Was her semblance telepathy?

There were many rumours about her semblance in the Underworld as well as hundreds of contracts for information on her. Her semblance, training regimen, even what she eats. Everyone wants to know to find some weakness in her flawless fighting style.

"Hello."

My body jerked at the sound, throwing me off balance. Without it I tipped backward off my branch. Instincts kicked in as my arms shot up to grab onto another branch before I fell too far. Looking down after I regained my bearings I saw Pyrrha standing perfectly still on a branch a ways down, a smile on her face. "Need a hand?"

"Very funny asshole."

"Hey, just trying to help," she scowled.

I felt a little bad for my unnecessary insult and sighed. "Sorry."

"Well, do you need help?"

"Nope," I said as I let go of the branch. The dust brace in my arm clicked round to Terra Dust as I held my breath and I activated my semblance. Upon hitting the grassy floor I felt myself go through it.

Phasing through the ground always gives me the weird sensation of cold pins and needles all over my body, like there was something irritating between every individual cell. Before phasing back to the surface, however, I activated the Black Dust in my eye, allowing me to see Pyrrha climbing down the tree to the lowest branch. Her Aura was a soft warm red colour, and it swirled with worry and confusion. Using Pyrrha's location in relation to the ground, I phased back up to the surface after a few seconds where I took a large breath.

"That was certainly interesting," Pyrrha quipped.

"Just one of my many tricks," I said as I regained my bearings.

Pyrrha looked like she wanted to ask something else about what she had just witnessed, but decided against it. Instead opting to ask, "so Shadow, what are you doing up so early? Didn't think anyone else got up at this time."

"Could ask you the same thing. Why the hell are you up at the crack of a sparrow's ass?"

"I always wake up around five for a morning run. Your turn, why are _you_ up?"

"Cause I've seen some messed up shit and sometimes it wakes me up."

"Care to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"But I could…"

"Nope."

"But Shadow…"

"Pyrrha, for the love of fucking christ, drop it."

"UHHH!" she groaned angrily while turning away. I angrily turned my head away from her and towards to the lush green field of grass that blanketed this part of Beacon, it was still damp with morning dew.

Sighing, I turned back to her. "Pyrrha I… I don't talk about my feeling and shit like that, it's just so much easier if I deal with it myself, sometimes by killing things."

"That can't be healthy."

"It's worked so far."

"Everyone needs to release their demons sometimes Shadow, some more often than others."

"How so?"

"Some people actually need to talk to others about their issues."

"Like yourself I'm guessing."

"I… Maybe."

Seeing an opportunity to learn more about Pyrrha Nikos, I smiled. "So what eats at the infamous Pyrrha Nikos," I said while crossing my arms and leaning back on the tree.

"A lot of things," she began before jumping down from the low branch she was sitting on. "But would you care to run and talk? I'll go slower for you."

"Ok then." We began with a slow jog from the tree to the path. When we reached the pavement we began picking up the pace, my boots clunking on the pavement. "Start talking, what's up with you and Blondy?"

"Jaune? Uhh… nothing" she lied.

"Horseshit, I saw the looks you give him, you're thirsty for him."

"I…I… No, no I'm not." She stumbled over her words, a violent blush as red as her hair spread across her cheeks.

"Yeahhh you do, just grow some fucking balls and tell the bastard," I grinned evilly.

"You don't understand Shadow."

"Maybe not, but it's still true."

"I'm leaving this conversation now," Pyrrha huffed as she picked up the pace.

Hanging back a little, I was beginning to think I overstepped my bounds, as per fucking usual. This conversation has been pretty hit-or-miss so far. Catching up to her, I tried to make amends. 'Argh being good feels weird, leaves a weird taste in your mouth.'

"Argh, hey, I'm sorry for what I said."

She glared at me for a second before softening her gaze. "You're too blunt."

"Yeah I'll give you that. I'm not very picky with my words, I just say what I feel."

"Yeah, I got that," she replied bitterly, picking up the pace.

There was a brief pause as we continued running, allowing me to look at our surroundings. We ran past the landing pads and a couple of smaller buildings on either side of the main path that stemmed north from the Memorial, before wrapping round a large brick building with two mahogany double doors. As we circled it I saw a massive glass dome roof with a light grey marble rim on the north-west side, it was a whole story higher than the rest of the building. A short distance away from this building should have been the edge of the infamous Emerald Forest, but instead my view was blocked by a great white wall. Its colour and overall smoothness matched but the rest of Beacon and Vale. I could see small cameras spaced about upon it. I also heard a loud buzzing noise, a Vis Dust energy field I guessed, probably mounted to the outside of the wall to zap any Grimm that got too close.

Suddenly Pyrrha broke the silence. "I need to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"When you look at me, what do you see?"

"The same way I see everyone: an enemy that doesn't want to kill me yet." Bang! There goes my brutal honesty again.

"Oh ok," she submitted. Obviously that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

Sighing, I lied. "That was a fail of a joke. No, to be honest it depends on when I look at you."

" _When_ you look at me?"

"When I was occasionally in Mistral I watched your fights in some of the pubs there and I always saw PYRRHA NIKOS, THE INVINICIBLE GIRL, THE MISTRAL MAIDEN. You're the strongest, fastest, and smartest. You can't be touched with blades nor emotion. Even in the after-fight interviews you say only what the people want you to say. You're every git's dream girl: smart, fast, strong, nice ass, you're the whole shebang."

That didn't lift her mood as much as I thought it would so I went to the good bit of my monolog. "However, in the short time of knowing you, I don't see that. I see _Pyrrha,_ the huntress in training, a girl just trying to be normal even though she can't."

"W...w...what do you mean?"

"I mean that yes, our names say who we are. But _we_ define what our names mean. I'm a scarred merc with a _lot_ of issues, and you, the champion. The girl who made herself so perfect, people view her a goddess, and now she wants out."

"This better be going somewhere."

"Fuck me, you huntresses seem to be real good at moaning about something while never actually doing anything about it. You want people to view you differently? Then act differently."

"Insult me or my friends again and I will hurt you."

"Got it, no insulting," I backtracked quickly. That was a fight I definitely wanted to avoid at the moment, especially just for being a dick.

She sighed before continuing off the original topic. "But then how would I do that?"

"You made yourself perfect, so act not perfect. Drop a few swears, be rude, be mean, I don't know, just break the cycle and people will see you differently."

"Then they'll fear me."

"No, that's only if you go too far. Just let them know not so politely you want some space, problem solved."

"How?"

"You're a celebrity, threatening a camera guy will spread like wildfire." I smirked.

"I want to be treated normally not like a criminal," she groaned as she rolled her eyes.

"For god's sake, make up your fucking mind! Do you want to be left alone or not?"

"I think you're confused. I don't want that, I just want to fit in; have a few friends no matter where I go."

"Oh, then…" I pondered on what to say next. Unbeatable killing machine wants to fit in, but can't because she's an unbeatable killing machine. 'Oh duh' I mentally slapped myself. "Just lose."

"I'm sorry?" She cocked her eyebrow.

"Just lose a fight."

"Slight problem, I don't think I can."

"It's called not beating the shit out of your opponent."

"I know that, but I was taught, trained, and brought up to win and be the best I can."

"Piss off Pyrrha," I spat as I felt anger boil inside me again. "You think you can't control yourself in a fight? Look at me for god's sake. If I lost a fight I died, like as in game over, I'm six feet under _dead_! If either of us should have a problem controlling ourselves in a fight it should be me not you." I simply glared as my rage boiled over for a second.

My outburst seemed to shut Pyrrha up for a few moments. This give me time to notice that we had begun to loop around the tower. We ran under its massive marble support struts and I spied two more large buildings, but there was no clue to what they could be. The ground had a thick layer of perfectly stylized concrete, altering patterns of darker and lighter pieces circling one another endlessly.

"Do you believe in destiny?" she questioned, going completely off the previous subject.

"To be honest I'm not sure," I responded, putting a lot of thought into my answer. "I've seen a lot of things that prove it's real, but at the same time… it just doesn't feel right to believe that our whole lives have already been set out but someone or something else."

"Well I can agree with that, but when I think of destiny I don't see a predetermined fate you can't escape. Rather, a final goal, something you work towards your whole life."

"But that's just it," I stated. "Who says I want to complete that goal I've been given? If I had listened to destiny I'd be dead at least twice over. Is that my destiny? To die?"

"What? No! But you must have a dream you will fight to the death to achieve."

"Pipedreams keep you sane, but that's all they are: pipedreams. They ain't ever goin happen, they just… make life a little easier."

"So you don't have a dream then?"

"If you count killing the son-of-a-bitch that killed my partner then yeah, I got a dream." My voice came out as cold as steel when I answered, the fire building up in my chest again.

"You had a partner?"

"Yeah, you need mates out there in the real world."

To my pleasant surprise she didn't try to coax anything more out of me. Instead we continued our run and simply enjoyed the scenery of the waking world around us. By now the sun had fully risen, the calm blue light of the morning sky shone peacefully as the bitter wind picked up. Pulling my scroll out again, the holographic screen appeared, reading 6:15.

"Well, time does fly when you're questioning each other's morals," I said a little too bitterly.

"Shadow, you don't need to be so hostile all the time."

"That's the problem Pyrrha, I don't think I can. For years I couldn't trust anyone except my partner. Even then it took three months in prison for me to finally trust him fully." Right after I said that I was hit with a spike of paranoia. 'Should I really be trusting her so easily, what if she sees me as some common thug?' But I knew what the answer to that was.

"Wow, that's pretty extreme."

"Yeah, I wish I was more trusting, but if I tell everyone _everything_ about me I just end up sounding like the bad guy," I sighed taking a pill.

"Shadow," she put her hand on my shoulder forcing us to stop. "People make bad choices and mistakes in their lives, it's what makes us human."

"About that…" I couldn't help but smirk as I dropped the Forma Dust illusion, revealing my fox ears, they had a passionate orange base leading to a charcoal black, though my left ear did have a sizable chunk missing off the top. "The human look hasn't really ever suited me."

"Wow... didn't expect that." Pyrrha stuttered as she eyed my second pair of ears in shock. "So that's why you got so angry at Blake, you're in the same boat."

"No, she has a choice I don't. I did want to tell her that I was a faunus yesterday, but I wanted to earn her trust without putting race into the mix."

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind are you?"

"Fox, from my mother's side."

"Ah ok." She looked away, processing the information and probably judging me. I sighed and scanned the horizon, I could make out the Memorial and the 6 dorm blocks with only a few more smallish trees in the way, the concrete path fresh and polished.

Without Pyrrha keeping the conversation alive we just stood there awkwardly, so I decided to bring the conversation back to its original topic.

"So you want what? People to just ignore your hugely successful arena career and like you for your _amazing_ personality," I said sarcastically, but part of me groaned for starting this conversation again.

"Well yeah," she admitted sadly.

"Well if you can't lose then just give yourself some faults so people don't see you as perfect."

"Ok, then what faults should I give myself?"

"You already have faults, like a terrible taste in men _._ " I couldn't help but smirk.

"Really?" She glared blankly.

"Hey, you asked," I grinned.

"Please try and help."

"What do you think I've been doing for the past however long we've been running." My face turned from a cheeky grin to a serious frown. "But honestly I don't know what to do Pyrrha, I ain't good at this shit."

Pyrrha just sighed and looked away. Her body seemed more closed off, like she was having a silent tantrum within herself, this only caused a spike in my anger

"Pyrrha, let me give you a bit of advice: if your worst problem is that people shower you with respect, then you're set for life."

"I don't see how that's advice."

"It means you shouldn't be worrying about this shit. Yes, I feel for you, I really do, 'cause I've got the same issue but you can't let it eat away at you like this!" I lectured, venting my built-up anger. I felt my frown morph into a look of irritation.

This rant did something to Pyrrha. She cracked. "So what will you have me do?!" she yelled while bringing up her arms as if to challenging me to answer. I made to step back, but something was stopping me.

"For years I've tried everything!" The fire in her eyes was getting more intense, I still couldn't move.

"I've changed my style! I've changed my attitude!" Whatever was forcing me to not step back was now pulling and twisting at my cybernetics. To put it bluntly. It fucking hurt.

"I even went _Goth_ for god's sake!" I felt the Atlesian titanium groan in defiance against whatever was attacking it, agonizing pain shooting through me as it did.

But nothing worked! Nothing!" She threw her arms around in rage, her hands clenched into battle ready fists. The pain shot through me again, even more excruciating than before and getting worse by the second. I felt like my arm might be ripped from my socket as its insides were gnarled and my shoes and armour compressed me. The torment forced me onto one knee as desperation took hold.

I was unable to scream, I was having trouble breathing, and the rage in Pyrrha's eyes showed no signs of abating, not to mention no signs of seeing my despair.

My mind raced to find the source of the strange force that was threatening to either crush me or tear me to shreds. Activating the Black Dust in my eye, I saw that Pyrrha's Aura was going insane. It shot up and down her body, racing to her hands and feet before returning to her heart, the core of her Aura. It shone with a harsh red light that stung my Black eye. I used my somewhat normal hand to reach into my back pouch and pull out a Cominius Dust grenade. As I felt my cybernetics start to crack and warp in my body, I forced my hand up close to Pyrrha's torso, pulled the pin and let the trigger go.

From the cold metal grenade came a wave of foul green gas, going straight into Pyrrha's face. The moment she breathed it in the pain cut out and I collapsed onto the ground, coughing as the gas entered my mouth. The taste was rancid like rotten eggs, but also calming at the same time. I felt my Aura grow dull and dormant.

Still in pain, although it had started to subside, I forced my weak body up and looked over to a grounded, coughing Pyrrha. It seems she's reacting badly to the Cominius Dust, a sign that she has never been exposed to it before.

"What the fuck was that!?" I squatted next to her head, I knew she would be fine, it was just the shock of the first exposure. I took another pill to calm myself, I pulled out a second grenade, once more pulling the pin and released the trigger. A smooth cloud of Uber Dust flowed out, taking a deep breathe, sweet almost honey-like Dust reactivated my Aura. I looked down to Pyrrha who was taking in as much air as possible.

"My.. sem... blance," she forced out.

"That does what? Cause immeasurable pain to whoever you please?" Ok that actually sounds pretty cool.

"My semblance.. Is polarity, like a magnet." I held out my metal hand and helped her stand.

"So having a body stuffed with cybernetics and implants probably isn't the greatest thing to have when around you then?" I said as we unconsciously started walking towards the dorms.

"Yeah I guess… Wait your arm isn't the only cybernetic you have?"

"Nope, I got kinetic feeders in all my joints and metal plating in a few necessary places."

"What do the kinetic feeders do?" she seemed to scan my body for evidence of the cybernetics.

"Generally just make me stronger, able to lift more, run for longer and faster. You know, normal cybernetic stuff."

"Yeah, because cybernetics are a normal occurrence in day to day life," she replied sarcastically.

"Very funny," I said as I rolled my eyes. "But do you feel better after that little explosion?" My body still ached from whatever she did but I decided to not mention that.

"Yeah, a little. Nothing changed but it still feels good to say it out loud."

"Preach it sister," I chuckled deeply.

"Now who's trying to be funny," she mimicked my reaction to her humour "But you did help me so I feel like I should return the favour."

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Come on Shadow, you can't shut yourself away forever."

"I won't, I just don't trust you yet, no offence."

"How can you say that after how much you've already opened up to me?"

'Fucking pills,' I mentally cursed. "Because you're normal… because you had a normal life with normal choices and troubles. If I was to tell you about the choices I made… you'd all see me as a criminal. And with what happened with Blake... there's a lot more going on."

"How so?" she asked. I had walked straight into her trap with open arms. That bitch.

Holding my tongue a little, I replied. "They killed my family just because my mum quit after they changed leaders. She was a huntress, not a terrorist."

"Your mom was a huntress?"

"Yeah, and one of the original ringleaders of the White Fang."

"Wow." She took a moment to consider the implications of that statement before continuing. "So why did they kill her?"

"She had morals, ones I remember and that they didn't like."

"Yet you don't act like a huntsman."

"I ain't, but I'll put aside personal gain if I feel I need to."

"But when does that come into effect? You're training to be a Huntsmen, you can't just jump from one side to the other whenever you please."

"Why can't I?! Why do I have to choose if I wanna make more money or be on the moral high ground!?" I argued, Pyrrha struck a nerve with that answer considering the nightmare I had last night.

"Hey, I'm trying to help, you could try and appreciate it."

"Help me! All you've done for me this entire time is shoot down all my ideas!" I growled at myself for saying that. She _was_ helping you idiot! I turned away and reaching into my pocket I pulled out my pill bottle, quickly opening it and swallowing one. As the calming feeling washed over me I turned back to see that she was walking away.

"Wait! Pyrrha, I'm sorry… I guess I'm just... jealous," I said as I ran to catch up to her.

When I caught up to her next to the first pair of dorms, she turned around to address me. "I know, that's the problem. Everyone is, but no one really knows me," she said as she began to turn around again.

"No, not like that, I don't envy your skill. Hell there may be a chance that I'm better than you," I blurted out. "It's just that you and I came here for the same reason: wanting to change something about ourselves. For you it's how people see you, for me it's how I act around others."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"But I guess this shit is harder than it looks."

"What is?"

"Being a good guy, or, at least, not a bad guy," I said solemnly while casting my gaze down. Was this a heart-to-heart?

"I guess you just need someone to show you how."

"Ha, who the fuck would do that?" I scoffed.

"I could, and in return you help people see me differently," Pyrrha smiled warmly.

'Say no. Don't let her getting involved.'

I decided to take a more polite approach rather than call her out immediately as that hadn't worked particularly well before. "Nah, I don't wanna trouble you with that shit."

"Please Shadow, I'm sure it will help both of us."

"A...ah..," I searched for a reason why she couldn't help me, but found none. "Fine." But just because I said it doesn't mean I actually have to.

"Thank you Shadow, I'm sure this will do wonders for you." She beamed from ear to ear.

"Still thinks it's a mistake."

"It might be," she furtively said as she turned around and looked at the building behind her. "But we can talk about that later, right now we need to get the others up for classes," she said as we ran up to the dorms.

When we reached our dorm block she quipped enthusiastically,"Well now the fun bit; climbing up all those stairs."

"Which floor is our room on?"

"Top floor. If we could get on the roof it would be much easier."

"Then get climbing _Champion_ ," I chuckled as I jumped up onto the wall and started climbing.

"That's cheating!" she shouted up to me.

"Adapt and survive Pyrrha!"

"Cheater!" I looked down to see her scaling the wall as well, using the windows and ledges as platforms to continue her ascent, and she was catching up quick. Bollocks. Why did I insult her? I willed my arm to turn to my Glacio Dust and I sent a very small amount onto the next ledge Pyrrha was going to jump onto. As she landed, her high-heeled boots slipped on the newly formed ice. Predictably, she lost her balance and began to fall.

Really should have thought that through.

I acted quickly. Letting go of the wall, I drew _Duro_ and _Apto,_ chains attached. I threw _Duro_ up for it to hook into the stonework. I threw _Apto_ down to catch the plummeting Pyrrha, attempting to wrap its chain around her ankle. I succeeded. We just hung there for a moment, the wind swaying us lightly.

"Shadow! What was that for?!" Pyrrha glared up at me upside down, giving me an accidental upskirt view, or was it down skirt. Either way I didn't mind. Hey 17 year old bloke here, with a celebrity hanging upside down who always wears an already revealing skirt, like you wouldn't do the same!

"Oops!" I yelled down to her.

"Well do you have a plan to get us down as you ruined mine!" Of course it never occurred to me that Pyrrha could probably have saved herself, but I had the way more immediate issue of having pissed her off anyway.

"Argh.. no."

To this Pyrrha flicked her ankle to free herself from my chain. She flipped and landed seamlessly on a window ledge before continuing to scale the building.

"Well come on then," she smirked.

"Oh yeah right…" I replied as I remembered my situation. Pulling _Apto_ up I put it away, the chain disconnecting from the hilt before wrapping around my metal arm. I then grabbed _Duro's_ chain and prepared to climb the building via impromptu scaler rope. Before I started the thought of jumping to the ground and climbing the stairs to avoid Pyrrha's anger was very tempting but then I would see her back at the dorm, where we would still argue but with spectators. So I dragged myself up to the roof. By this time Pyrrha had reached the top and waiting for me. Very cross.

"Shadow, what was that about?" she tapped her foot on the concrete.

"Yeah... sorry about that." I scratched my head awkwardly.

"Why did you do that?!"

"I just did, I run on instinct."

"You could have killed me!"

"Killed is a strong word, harmed seems appropriate."

"Don't try and downplay this!"

"Look, I'm sorry, I just do things like that when I'm doing… well anything really."

"That's even worse!"

"I'm sorry Pyrrha," I said as I pawed at the ground.

"Lesson one of being a good guy; no cheating."

"Oops," I shrugged.

"Now you need to repay me," she said, remaining completely serious.

"I got money."

"Not monetary, I want a question," she grinned.

"A question?" I repeated uneasily, I was NOT liking where this was going.

"Yes, a question. I ask a question and you have to answer truthfully."

Seeing no way out I sighed. "Fine, but nothing too revealing or long winded."

"What was your partner's full name?"

"Criket McBrown, his street name was Spring-heeled Jack."

"What was he like?"

"You said one question."

Suddenly Pyrrha's scroll rang as _Call Me Maybe_ played, obviously an alarm from the way she just swiped it away.

"Whatever let's just get everyone else up for lessons." She still didn't look very happy with me, but I was now preoccupied by the scariest thought to enter my mind that morning:

'I'm now entering my first full day at Beacon.'

* * *

Author's notes

Yes the song is call me maybe by Taylor Swift fucking deal with it. That shit is funny.

Anyway not much to say here other than thanks to everyone for reading and to my Editor Spencer and sister for their support and imput. Please leave a comment on your thoughts on this chapter because I love reading about it, positive or negative. Anyway have a good day peps Chapter three will be up hopefully in a few weeks


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